April 2009 Archives

I've been known to cry at the movies- but while watching the Academy Awards?
I have to admit though, when I saw Mickey Rourke wearing a pendant displaying his recently deceased dog, Lodi, the water works began to flow. What a wonderfully simple way to remember someone special in your life.

Amate Studios and Judikins are both fabulous sources for photo jewelry which comes in a wide variety of metals and finishes. You might choose a pin or a ring to place your picture in or, like Mickey, a neckalace with a pendant.

After your image is trimmed and place into the jewelry, you will need to pour a liquid (also available at Amate and Judikins) over the top to seal and preserve it.
It's a perfect way to keep a loved one literally close to your heart.

Editor's Note: I had a conversation on Twitter with Kip Beatty about the difficultly of editing HD video from the Canon 5D Mark II in Apple's iMovie '09. Kip said he had researched a solution, and I want to share his findings with our readers. Here's what Kip Beatty wrote.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark II shoots stunning 1080p 30 fps video. However, if you're using iMovie '09 to edit your movies, you'll find using anything but a Mac Pro to edit the native .264 files from the camera will bring iMovie to its knees. In fact, Apple recommends using the "Large" (960 x 540) setting when importing movies from the 5D Mark II. Even if you don't encounter the unexpected quits mentioned in the support document, you'll likely encounter a lot of stutters, pauses, and sluggishness. A simple workaround is to convert the .264 files to iMovie's preferred AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) format using the free MPEG Streamclip.

Copy your movie files from your CF card to your computer (you can, if you prefer, convert them directly from the CF card). Open MPEG Streamclip and open the movie you want to convert. From the File menu choose Export to Quicktime... (CMD-E). At the top drop down menu, change the compression to Apple Intermediate Codec and slide the quality slider to 100 percent. You may also wish to open up the Adjustments options and bump brightness, contrast, and saturation just a bit to get an exact match, but be very conservative with any changes to these sliders (I'd suggest running a couple of tests on a small file to get the look you like). Click Make Movie and you're done with MPEG Streamclip.

You'll find the resulting file, once imported, plays much more nicely with iMovie, especially on a MacBook Pro or iMac. Unfortunately, you'll also find the resulting file is much larger than the original .264 version. In my tests, it's almost twice as large. This is the main drawback to using AIC. Nonetheless, if iMovie is choking on your native files, it's a worthwhile tradeoff. If you're going to do a lot iMovie editing with AIC converted files from the EOS 5D Mark II, you'll need a lot of storage space. Look at it this way, it's a great excuse to pick up a DroboPro.

Since permissions are so easy to change on Flickr, I recommend that you manage them as part of your workflow. This is particularly handy when you upload images from an iPhone, EyeFi card or other mobile device where you don't have a chance to fine-tune the editing before transfer.

In these instances, set the permission to "Only You (Private)" during upload. Once you get to a computer, then you can use Flickr's online editing tools to adjust the image the way you want. That most likely includes cropping, exposure, color balance, and sharpening. When the picture is ready to share with the world, then you can change the permission to "Anyone (Public)," and it will be viewable by all.

Flickr's photo management tools are very good. And now that we have more ways to capture and upload images, we can use controls such as the Privacy setting to ensure that we have the flexibility we want while maintaining good quality.

Flickr Training on Lynda.com

I'm currently working on an in-depth Flickr Essential Training with Lynda.com. But I have a good training online right now: iPhoto '09: 10 Things to Know About Flickr. "iPhoto and Flickr are a perfect match for sharing pictures on the web. In this training, I explain how these two applications work together to create online albums, known as sets. From the basics, like setting up a free Flickr account, to the more advanced features, like creating an iPhoto slideshow to publish on Flickr, I show features that both beginning and advanced photographers can use to enhance their online collections. So if you're an iPhoto user, you might want to check this out right now.

John Nack has posted a few useful reminders about Photoshop CS4 for users who haven't found this info yet. Most of the tips are workarounds for tweaks to the application that may be frustrating folks, such as changes to keyboard shortcuts or what appears to be mysteriously missing features. Plus he has tips for drag and drop layers, trackpad annoyances, and more.

If you're a CS4 user, then be sure to check out this post. It could save you a headache or two.

Have you ever looked at a magnified image on your computer screen and felt disappointed about its appearance? You thought you had a sharp, crisp photograph, but it wasn't holding together at 100 percent as well you thought it should. This is the perfect scenario for making a print. Then you will know how good (or not so good) your picture really is.

High magnification computer monitors are very useful for photographers, but that's just one way to look at an image. And think about it: Is that the way you share your work with others? At 100 or 200 percent zoomed in on the eyelashes? If you make an 8.5"x11" or a 13"x19" print, and it looks good, then you can trust that you have a quality photograph.

The trick is, how do you build an easy printing workflow that is dependable? In this podcast I give you a few tips to put you on the path to successful printing and accurate judging of your images.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Vibrancy is the April 2009 Photo Assignment. Here in North America, Spring is on the way. But nature isn't the only source of vibrant colors. See what you can create for this assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is April 30, 2009.

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Facebook is a popular social network that many people use to share photos with friends and family. iPhoto shines at organizing and editing pictures. With its latest release, iPhoto '09, Apple built Facebook connectivity right into their consumer photography application. Now you can organize your images in iPhoto, then click a button and publish them on Facebook.

As you would imagine, there more to this partnership than initially meets the eye. In my latest Lynda.com title, iPhoto '09: 10 Things to Know About Facebook, I show you the 10 things you need to know to publish efficiently on Facebook with iPhoto. You'll learn:

"I am constantly 'jonesing' to photograph action," writes Winston Hendrickson. "Thus I typically find myself in situations where I have to juggle composition, exposure, and the pursuit of the golden moment -- all in real-time. Usually this happens with sports photography, but when I was in Tasmania last year as part of the Adobe Lightroom Adventure, I faced this challenge in the context of commercial fishing."

"The Lightroom Adventure involved 22 photographers trying to visually capture as much of Tasmania as possible in two weeks. During our time in Freycinet (Eastern Tasmania), local lobster fishermen Grant Whalen and Cameron Lucas gave me a chance to see the 'down under' island-state through their eyes. Grant, who has been fishing these waters since he was nine, heads out of port every day at o-dark-hundred; captain of his own boat made entirely from the local Huon Pine."

"At first, I had no idea what the rhythm of the boat would be or what type of shooting constraints I would confront. I quickly learned that both light and position would be ongoing challenges given the tight deck space and the frenetic pace of the work. I had to move constantly (practically after every shot) to stay out of the way as the boat never stopped sailing. Thus light, background and subjects were constantly shifting and difficult to predict."

"I wanted a single shot that captured the exhausting daily work of harvesting and re-planting the 41 heavy wooden traps. Halfway into the seven hour trip, when I was changing my battery in the wheelhouse and Grant popped in to use the radar in order to tune placement of the pots, I got this shot. The bridge was so tight that I had to hold my Canon EOS 40D with a 17-55mm f/2.8 over my head and against the back wall while sprawling out on the pilot’s bench seat. I couldn’t see the viewfinder or LCD so I framed using test shots. Later, in Adobe Lightroom, I compensated for the backlighting with a combination of fill light and local correction brushing (flash was not an option unless I planned to swim home)."

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

As a regular Shutterfly user, I was happy to see they've released Shutterfly for iPhone. The free software makes it easy to view all of your albums on the venerable photo sharing/printing service, and you can upload images from your iPhone to Shutterfly. I like that it's a two-way service, but I think the strength of this application is how nicely it lets you carry years of image making around in your pocket.

When you launch the app and log in to your account, you can view albums, take a picture, or upload an existing photo. If you push an image up to Shutterfly, it creates a new album in your My Albums section called iPhone Pictures. All subsequent iPhone images are stored there.

Once your pictures are stored on Shutterfly's service, there they stay. On April 11, 2009, Shutterly members received a letter from Jeffrey Housenbold, President & CEO. He noted that as a member, you receive free, secure, storage and your pictures will not be deleted. This is true. I've been a member of the free service since 2002, and all of my albums are still online there, safe and sound.

This leads to the strength of the Shutterfly for iPhone app. You can access and show off all of that work. Your images display beautifully on iPhone's high resolution screen, in either horizontal or vertical mode. You can shake or swipe to move from one picture to another. In my case, this allows me to share years of work by simply tapping on my iPhone screen.

If you're already a Shutterfly customer with content on their servers, I think you'll enjoy the new access you have to your work. Also, new users can build a robust online storage, sharing, and printing workflow with these tools. For uploading lots of pictures, using your computer and Shutterfly's other tools are the better way to go. But for viewing and sending up the occasional snapshot, the Shutterfly for iPhone app is terrific.

I was struck by irony as I photographed the closing of Virgin Records in San Francisco. The once megastore of music with its flashing lights and state of the art individual listening stations is now an empty shell. Just a few months ago, you could buy any CD imaginable, then choose from a variety of accessories to go with it: posters, clothing, music players. On Friday nights, it was a great place to just hang out.

Now, as they liquidate the fixtures in Virgin, across the street there's standing room only in the Apple Store. For $79 you can buy a 4 GB iPod, connect it to your computer, and fill it up with music. An entire CD library can be clipped to your shirt. The device is so light that you wouldn't know it was there, save the earbuds humming in your ears.

It's one thing to contemplate how quickly times have changed as you listen to music through tiny headphones. It's another to see it happen with your very own eyes.

I'm getting ready to work on a big Flickr project, and I'd love to hear about your favorite features and your best tips. What do you like best about Flickr? Do you use any tools with it, such as plug-ins for uploading? Have you learned any helpful techniques that you're willing to share with others?

If you have answers for any of these, please post a comment below (only hit the Post button once, it takes a couple minutes to process), or chime in on the discussion page of The Digital Story Public Group. I've already set up a thread there. You can also send you thoughts directly to me, if you're more comfortable with that. Contact information is on our Submissions page.

The TIPA Awards, 2009 feature outstanding photography equipment. In this podcast I cover many of the winners and look at the trends we see in today's market. It's not just Canon and Nikon these days...

Monthly Photo Assignment

Vibrancy is the April 2009 Photo Assignment. Here in North America, Spring is on the way. But nature isn't the only source of vibrant colors. See what you can create for this assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is April 30, 2009.

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

One of my favorite new features in iPhoto 8.0.2 is the ability to copy geodata from one image in your library and paste it to another. The process is easy, but it isn't necessarily intuitive. Here's how it works.

First, select a photo that has the location data that you want by clicking on it once. Then, right-click or CTRL-click on it and choose Copy from the contextual popup menu. Then, go directly to the image that you want to add the data to, right-click on it, and choose Paste Location from the contextual popup menu. You can confirm the success of this by choosing Get Info (click on the little "i" in the corner of the photo), or by looking at the extended metadata for the image (Option - CMD - I) -- you should see Latitude, Longitude, and Place information.

Don't Forget About Smart Albums

You can create Smart Albums to sort images that have geodata from those that don't. Just go to File > New Smart Album, and choose "Photo - is not - Tagged with GPS" as your conditions. This will create a Smart Album with all of your untagged images. Then, if you want a companion album with tagged photos, just create a new Smart Album with "Photo - is - Tagged with GPS". Now you can easily copy location data from tagged images and apply to untagged ones.

"It isn't really, I was just lucky catching this small hairy garden huntsman spider in the process of moulting. I understand that spiders do this mainly at night for their protection, but I guess this fellow just couldn't wait."

One of my favorite techniques for quick outdoor portraits is what I call "Spot Meter Plus Backlight." The set up is simple. Put the sun behind the subject with a clean background. Then adjust your metering pattern to spot meter, take a reading off the subject, and fire away. You'll get nice highlights in the hair, good separation between the subject and background, plus you can work quickly and from any distance.

For this quick portrait of Karen and Ethan, I used a Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom, and that's it. The aperture was set to f/4, shutter speed 1/350th, and ISO 200. I had the lens extended all the way out to 200mm. I processed the image in Aperture with final touches in Photoshop CS4.

Wondering which of the new offerings might be best for you: the Nikon D-5000 or the Canon EOS Rebel T1i? Well, Cameratown has just published their Nikon D-5000 vs. Canon EOS Rebel T1i Feature Comparison Chart. How does HD video capture stack up? Resolution? LCD display? Burst rate? The chart reveals all.

Here's a nifty article about four tools that capture location data while you shoot. All of these devices cost less than $200, yet provide decent geotagging. In the piece, Geotag your photos on-the-go, I cover the Nikon P6000 camera, Eye-Fi Explore, the PhotoTrackr, and the photoGPS. It's a quick read with a good overview of these devices.

When comparing quality 16 GB cards, prices vary from $210 to $30. That's quite a spread. Which one is right for you?

In this podcast, I take a look at a variety of "pro" memory cards and try to determine which are the best value for my camera. Along the way, we consult the excellent CF/SD Performance Database run by Rob Galbraith. I think you'll enjoy this show.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Vibrancy is the April 2009 Photo Assignment. Here in North America, Spring is on the way. But nature isn't the only source of vibrant colors. See what you can create for this assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is April 30, 2009.

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

When Max and Zach invited me to a "behind the scenes" tour with their mom at the Redwood Empire Food Bank in Santa Rosa, I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about one of my favorite non-profits in Sonoma County, CA. The boys had raised $135.80, and wanted to hand it over personally to Miriam Hodgman, the Food Drive & Event Coordinator for the organization.

What I learned during my visit is that this food bank provides assistance to more than 60,000 hungry people a month, distributing over 10 million pounds of food a year. Forty-two percent of the funding comes from individuals like Max and Zach.

One program that caught my eye is called "3 Squares." For less than $4, the food bank can provide 12 meals for a family of four. The boxed meal includes all of the ingredients for entrees such as Black Bean Chili or Spanish Rice with Vegetables. I was struck by the fact that so little money could make such a big difference.

If you're looking for a way to help others who may be struggling right now, consider contacting your local food bank. They are experts at bringing together resources from businesses, individuals, and charities to provide immediate relief to hungry people. There are no qualifications required to receive help. If someone is hungry, they will receive food.

Photos from top to bottom: Top-The 3 Squares program with boxed meals ready to deliver. Middle-Max applies a label to a 3 Squares box. Bottom-One of the many areas of the Food Bank where supplies are organized. Pictures by Derrick Story, captured with a Canon 5D Mark II.

There are many challenges facing the San Francisco Chronicle. The venerable Bay Area newspaper lost $50 million in 2008, and is on pace to lose even more this year.

Virtual camera club member Jeff Fielding captured this painter memorializing the Chronicle building on canvas. You'll notice that the sky is much more dramatic in the painting, with an overall facelift for the structure. Jeff used his Canon 40D with the zoom set to 17mm. ISO was 100, and exposure was set in Manual mode: 1/50 at f/16 (for plenty of depth of field).

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

The best technique that I learned during my interview with Winston Hendrickson was how the Camera Profiles function works in Adobe Camera Raw. If you shoot Raw, you've got to check this out.

It goes something like this. In Raw, you're capturing in a very large color space, larger than your monitor can display. So decisions have to be made as to how that color space is going to be represented when the file is processed. Adobe has its default interpretation, as does your camera manufacturer. With Camera Profiles, you can preview all of these options, and more, with just a click of the mouse. Then you can choose the color profile that best appeals to you for that particular shot.

Just go to the Camera Calibration tab in ACR, and click on the Camera Profiles pop up. You'll be amazed at how different the various interpretations of the original color space look. And if you want, you can even create your own custom color profile.

The planets appear to be aligning for the release of the third generation iPhone this summer. Of particular interest to our community are the rumors of a larger image sensor that supports up to 3.2 megapixel still captures, and the ability to record video.

If indeed we see these upgrades, then the iPhone stands to move forward as the "camera you always have with you." Combined with the already useful network connectivity and plethora of photography software via the App store, you could find yourself reaching for your smartphone first in picture taking situations. I predict we would see more candids and grab shots captured with an upgraded iPhone. We should know more this coming June.

The perfect blend for a Photoshop discussion: an expert who oversees the Photoshop engineering team, and who is a photographer too. Meet Winston Hendrickson, Sr. Director, Engineering, Digital Media, for Adobe.

During this chat in a conference room at Adobe headquarters, Winston and I talk about what's happening under the hood for Bridge, ACR, and Photoshop. He explains lots of goodies such as, the difference between the Lightroom and Bridge "databases," the similarities between the Develop module in Lightroom and the sliders in ACR, improvements in Photoshop, and some great lesser-known features such as Camera Profiles. Terrific, informative interview.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Vibrancy is the April 2009 Photo Assignment. Here in North America, Spring is on the way. But nature isn't the only source of vibrant colors. See what you can create for this assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Submissions page. Deadline for entry is April 30, 2009.

The Digital Story podcasts are available for direct download from Apple iPhones. I've created a special mobile download page here. Just load the page in Safari, browse the podcast line-up, and click on the one you want to listen to.

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our new Flickr Public Group. It's a blast!

Terrific video by PhotoAnswers where Canon Product Manager Mike Owen discusses the new Canon T1i (500D). In short, the combination of attributes including affordable price, high resolution LCD, HD video recording, and high ISO -- all crammed into a compact package, make the Rebel T1i a tempting DSLR. You'll have even a harder time resisting after watching this video.

I was up on the second floor talking with a senior clerk in Housewares who had just found out she was going to lose her job. This was the first week of liquidation at the Gottschalks department store in Santa Rosa, Ca. She had worked for the company for more than 5 years.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"Mostly, I'm just mad." she replied. "I just hate seeing this happen here. And I don't want to lose my job."

She said this as she kindly helped me with a small purchase during our conversation.

By way of background, I learned that: "Gottschalks, founded in Fresno in 1904, operated 58 department stores and three specialty stores, including locations in Santa Cruz and Watsonville. It had about 5,200 employees in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Nevada," wrote Tim Sheehan of The Fresno Bee. "Gottschalks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-January in hopes of either reorganizing its debt or finding a buyer." But unfortunately neither plan worked and they had to turn over their business to a liquidator.

The sequence for closing a large retail store this way is predictable, almost mathematical. First, the liquidator moves in and takes over the operation. Initially, they may actually raise the prices. For example, while I was in Gottschalks, I overheard one customer commenting, "I was here last week and this set of dishes was on sale for 40 percent off. Now they're only 20 percent discounted." This also happened with a Circuit City store closing (as reported by Ira Glass in This American Life). The liquidators raised prices at the beginning of the closing to get as much money as possible, then slowly deepened the discounts as inventory dwindled.

Even though the signs outside tempt shoppers with savings up to 60 percent, they most likely won't see that level of discounting for weeks. Meanwhile, inside on the second floor in Housewares, I feel the eerie sensation of death. I know that soon everything I see here will be gone. Out of the corner of my eye I notice another clerk who had given me a great deal on a major purchase months back. I had this fleeting thought that maybe I had taken advantage of him, and now he was certain to lose his job.

"These are good people," blurted the woman who was helping me at the counter. "I've really enjoyed working for this company." She then carefully finished wrapping my purchase and wished me a good day. "Best of luck," I said, and took the escalator back down to the first floor, knowing this will be my last visit to Gottschalks of Santa Rosa.

Photos by Derrick Story with a Canon 5D Mark ll and a Canon 24-105mm f/4 lens. Images processed and converted to B&W in Aperture.

"I visited the WW II Museum in New Orleans while on a business trip last year," writes Rick Brandt, "and saw this gentleman sitting on a bench in front of a Sherman tank on display. I don't know for sure, but it crossed my mind that he may have very well been a veteran. Regardless of whether he is a vet of not — this moment in time does make me consider the sacrifice his generation made for mine and those that followed."

Rick captured this moment with a Canon G9, processed in Aperture with the aid of Nik Software's Silver Efx Pro.

If you have a candid you'd like to share, take a look at our Submissions page, then send us your Grab Shot. We'll try to get it published for you on The Digital Story.

If you're using your iPhone to capture pictures then upload directly online to sites such as Flickr, then having them in the best shape possible before transfer is important. One of the easiest ways to improve just about any photograph is to crop it. This is especially true with cameras sans zoom lenses, such as the iPhone.

Cropulator does exactly that. It provides easy to drag handles that lets you quickly crop an image, then saves a copy of it to your camera roll with a new sequential file name. You have both the cropped and the original images there waiting for you. It also provides an aspect ratio lock, rotation, straightening, and a help page.

If the iPhone is your pocket photo studio, then Cropulator is a must have app. You can get it in the App Store for 99 cents.

Here's a fun one for you. How about a super compact photo studio that folds up smaller than a pizza box, but includes two lights, reversible backdrop, camera stand, and diffused panels on three sides? It even has a handle so you can carry it like a briefcase. And what if I told you it costs less than $43, including software?

I just tested the Merax One Shot Portable Photo Studio Lighting Box Kit, and it works as advertised. You can illuminate your items using regular daylight, or with the 2800K lamps included in the kit. The 22" softbox with blue/white reversible background can accommodate typical eBay items and other small goodies. And for Windows users, there's software for dropping out the background if that's what you want to do.

It's not high tech, and the lights are far from top quality, but for less than $50 you can get a clever, compact, photo studio that let's you shoot anywhere.